Seraulim issimmering. And the angst of its people is set to explode at this Sunday’s gramsabha over issues of illegal road widening, mega projects and land filling.
Sandwichedbetween Betalbatim and Margao, Seraulim is one of those blink and you missvillages. But it doesn’t want to be so. And this Sunday, it plans to show why.
A hugenoise is expected over construction mess and the building of a new panchayatghar.
Thevillagers are up in arms against the panchayat decision to go ahead andconstruct a new panchayat ghar in a field behind the church. Over the years thepanchayat office was housed in church property. Since 2009, the church fabrica servednotices to the panchayat to vacate its office at the Our Lady of Pilar Church.
In a gramsabha meeting, on June 6 this year, the panchayat passed a resolution toconstruct a new panchayat ghar behind the church, on land gifted to it by latefreedom fighter Fabiano Costa.
Residents fearthat the little part of the land was gifted to the panchayat with an ulteriormotive. The land behind the church is one huge field. Only part of this fieldwas gifted to the panchayat, the villagers told The Goan. The villagers allegethat the owner gifted the land to the last panchayat with an intention to getconversion rights to the whole area.
"Theconstruction is proposed on land that is an eco-sensitive zone, in a water bodycalled Daclem Tollem," said village activist Tina Rebello, who is worriedthat the panchayat ghar’s construction will lead to flooding in the area.
There areother problems too plaguing the village. “The village is small in size. We alsoface huge water scarcity problem and voltage fluctuations. At the moment thevillagers are stoutly opposing a project by Commonwealth Developers. Projectsby Nanu’s and other real estate developers also face stiff opposition,” Rebellosaid.
“Largeparts of the village are lush green and in close proximity of many beaches,which makes it a magnet for real estate developers,” Rodney Almeida a residentfrom the area said.
The multiplebungalows and buildings take a toll on the village in terms of sewage dischargeand scarcity of electricity and water, he further said. “All these projects arerejected by the Gram Sabha. But unfortunately they get approved by the Directorof Panchayat which we feel is for monetary consideration,” he alleged.
